The Wall Street Journal: Trump leans toward expanding war with Iran

U.S. officials said that President Donald Trump is leaning toward expanding U.S. military operations in Iran, days after receiving briefings from his top aides, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The options under consideration, according to officials, include intensifying air strikes, deploying ground forces to seize Iranian islands near the Strait of Hormuz, and bombing a fortified site believed to be used for secret nuclear activities.

They noted that these discussions were among the formal and informal conversations Trump held in recent days with senior officials, including his vice president, J.D. Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine.

Trump chaired a meeting in the Situation Room on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of seizing Kharg Island and other territories along the Strait of Hormuz using U.S. forces, as well as the potential for bombing a tunnel complex in the Al-Fas Mountains, a site linked to the nuclear program that the United States has not yet targeted.

The U.S. president has not made a final decision on the next steps in the war, insisting that he prefers to resolve the conflict with Iran through diplomatic channels, according to officials speaking to The Wall Street Journal.